Summary
Nature inclusive exersise
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Developed by: Francesca Leucci and Evita Laheij
Aim of the exercise
The aim of this exercise is to overcome the known dilemma human vs. nature that characterizes environmental laws by developing nature connectedness.
More specifically, the exercise aims to build a closer relationship with more-than-human beings affected by existing environmental laws and, in this way, to develop a critical view and trigger ideas to redesign the law.
Target group
The exercise is for the participants of a course of environmental law. Some prior knowledge of environmental law would be needed.
Step‑by‑step guidance
Introduction
- Participants are told a case (fictive or real) that is regulated by certain laws, for instance a polluting factory receiving a permit that allows pollution of the water under certain conditions (building a pump to bring the chemicals in the big river where pollutants will dilute).
Reflection in peers (5’)
- Participants receive 5’ to reflect in peers about the permit and whether there are reasons to argue that it is not just even if it seems to be legal.
Practice ‘Get-to-know Nature’ (20’)
- Participants are brought to a natural place to do the ‘observe exercise’ for 5’, they have to look around and find more-than-human beings affected by the permit in the area close to the imagined factory.
- Participants do the exercise ‘Speak to Nature’ for 5’: they have to explain the law to the beings they selected and how it effects them specifically. For example, when talking to the water: “this would mean that you will be polluted and all life that lives in you will die, and no one wants to swim in you or play in your anymore and you will look like poison. And the animals that will lay eggs in you, will not see their little grow anymore.”
Reflection in group (15’)
- Participants reflect on the three exercises in group and with guided questions for 15’.
Part I: What did you realise/feel in the first step ‘observe’? what did you feel when asking questions about the chemicals released because of the permit? How did it feel to speak with nature?
Part II: Did you observe any change in the way you looked at the law before and after the exercise? Do you now agree with the law? Would you propose a different law? Do you think that creating a relation/connection with nature plays a role in the way we design and apply environmental laws?
Preparation & materials needed
Some background information on the case study will be provided in advance.
No materials needed. The exercise needs to be conducted in a natural place that resembles the environment that is affected by the laws selected.
Tips/considerations
To take it a little further, we discussed the following: you give students the same case study in a classroom and see what they come up with. Then you send another group (or the same one) outside and let them do this nature inclusive exercise and then have them reflect on if it changes anything for them (comparison of doing it inside without connecting to the more-than-human beings. Or have one group do it inside, one in the field, and then having them discuss with each other.
(Anonymous) results of the group reflection collected at the end of the training:
‘My friend also started asking me questions, will I die? When? Will I be in ibernation? And I didn’t know the answers that my friend was going to ask me’
‘It is difficult to tell a friend that they are going to suffer’
‘It is different to feel a law instead of just reading a paper’
‘It is very hard if someone decided what has to happen and you have to tell the bad news’
‘How easy is to talk first to a dragonfly, and it helped a lot to understand how systemic is everything, so if you unbalance one part, this has an effect to everything’
‘If you are forced to explain to non-human, then you realise that we do have a say and laws are created in democracy, so people are pushed to re-engage in the production of laws, laws are not made by someone else and imposed on us, we impose them on ourselves’
‘I feel I am also a polluting thing for the water!’
‘I need some guiding questions, I cannot just say hello, what should I say to the dragon fly to get to know each other?’
‘This can touch deeply and it is great how it brings a message, but it is also a sign of aftercare, it can touch deeply, it helps to acknowledge emotions and show that you are caring about them’